"Out damned spot.." Looking back at The Daily Beast article that is quoted from below the Beast article it seems is not available on-line anymore about this Mormon apostasy incident. Any word on the ex-communication? The gradation of practicing members going from some making suggestions to being critical over to being judged an apostate is real interesting and sobering. -Buck in the Dome
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Buck" wrote: > > 'Apostasy', this is a really interesting article about coercing a group > culture of membership faithfulness through administrative fealty testing. > > "...their view that he is an apostate, which means a person who renounces a > religious or political belief or principle." > > The article does a good job of displaying spectrum of being either just > critical, negative, apostasy (loss of belief), being antagonistic, outright > combative, and then even terrorist-ick to either a movement administrator or > as an organizational fanatic might see it. You can see the full spectrum of > this in writers on FFL here too from practicing meditators, to critical > meditators, to TM apostates to even TM-hater terrorists. It is a really > interesting short comparative article about things. Thanks. > -Buck > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > This article brings up for me the thorny question of what would happen > > if he became President and his most trusted adviser Eric Fehrnstrom > > (shown below as Batman to Romney's Robin) said to him, "Mitt, I don't > > really think it's a good idea to nuke both Iran and the American > > Homeless the same day?" Would he consider this advice as valid and > > useful, or would he call the bishops and have Fehrnstrom excommunicated? > > [featureimg] Mormons Want to Excommunicate Romney CriticAfter writing > > negative articles about the Republican candidate, the managing editor > > of MormonThink.com says he faces excommunication. Is the Church on a > > witch hunt? Jamie Reno reports. > > David Twede, 47, a scientist, novelist, and fifth-generation Mormon, is > > managing editor of MormonThink.com <http://mormonthink.com/> , an > > online magazine produced largely by members of the Mormon Church that > > welcomes scholarly debate about the religion's history from both > > critics and true believers. > > A Mormon in good standing, Twede has never been disciplined by Latter > > Day Saints leadership. But it now appears his days as a Mormon may be > > numbered because of a series of articles he wrote this past week that > > were critical of Mitt Romney <http://mormonthink.com/politics.htm> . > > > > On Sunday, Twede says his bishop, stake president, and two church > > executives brought him into Florida Mormon church offices in Orlando > > and interrogated him for nearly an hour about his writings, telling > > him, "Cease and desist, Brother Twede." > > > > Mormon leaders have scheduled an excommunication > > <http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Disciplinary_Procedures> "for apostasy" > > on Sept. 30. A spokesman for the church > > <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/06/17/mormon-church-scramble\ > > s-in-romney-spotlight.html> told The Daily Beast that the church would > > not be commenting for this story. > > > > In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Twede says that during > > the interrogation he felt "attacked, cornered, and very anxious." > > > > The four church leaders verbally chastised him, he says, for hiding his > > identity on MormonThink and his personal blog in order to avoid > > discipline. Twede, who writes using only his first name, says they kept > > asking him why he didn't identify himself online if he had nothing > > to hide. > > > > "I told them I hide my name precisely because of things like > > this," he says. "I said, `Look how fast you got to me.' > > I know a lot of members don't want their life disturbed. In the > > Mormon church, if you're not part of the uniform group > > <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/06/10/david-frum-on-how-romn\ > > ey-s-religion-is-his-greatest-asset.html> , you are ostracized." > > > > Twede asked church leaders how they came up with his name so fast after > > posting the articles. They wouldn't tell him, but he says he's since > > been told by a church insider that a contributor to the pro-Mormon > > Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research > > <http://www.fairlds.org/> , many of whose members are professors at > > Brigham Young University, alerted church officials in Salt Lake City, > > who apparently informed his local ecclesiastical leaders. > > > > "When they interrogated me, they denied that they were on a witch > > hunt, but they kept asking me, `Who are the other individuals you > > work with on MormonThink?'" he says. "They continued demanding > > that I tell them. But I didn't." > > > > Twede's situation was first publicly disclosed this week on an ex-Mormon > > online discussion site by Steve Benson > > <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/benson/> , the > > Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist for The Arizona Republic > > and grandson of former secretary of agriculture and Mormon prophet Ezra > > Taft Benson. > > > > Benson, who left Mormonism in 1993, the same year he won the Pulitzer, > > is now a vocal critic of the church and is an active voice on the > > ex-Mormon sites. > > > > "What you're seeing with David is not atypical of what the > > church has done in the past, where local leadership becomes focused on > > riding into battle under the flag `out damn spot' and ridding > > itself or perceived apostates," Benson tells The Daily Beast. > > "I was under this kind of investigation when I left in '93. I > > didn't want to give them the satisfaction of an excommunication. I > > no longer wanted to be a member of that organization." > > > > In his role as managing editor of MormonThink, Twede wrote an article > > about Romney last month titled "The God of Mitt Romney: Why Do Some > > Claim He's Not Christian?" > > <http://mormonthink.com/christian.htm> > > > > Then last week he posted several stories about the political history of > > LDS and how the church may or may not influence Romney > > <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/06/10/david-frum-on-how-romn\ > > ey-s-religion-is-his-greatest-asset.html> , as well as a few blog posts > > that were tongue-in-cheek takes on the church. And that was apparently > > all it took for church leaders to intervene. > > > > "When they brought me into the office, they told me they were upset > > by the way I had portrayed myself," he says. "They didn't like > > that I was writing a blog critical of the church, and they were upset > > by the fact that I was discussing the temple, which is connected to > > Mitt Romney in my article. I revealed things about the temple, and > > secrecy, and other things that they just don't want anyone to talk > > about." > > > > Twede took down his blog in an effort to compromise with church leaders > > and even pulled some material off MormonThink. But he says it apparently > > didn't change their view that he is an apostate, which means a > > person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle. > > >
